Capella Education Co's free cash flow per share for the
three
months ended in Jun. 2017 was USD 1.06.
Its free cash flow per share for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in {{stock_data.data.quarter_last}] was USD 4.40.

During the past 12 months, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate of Capella Education Co was 21.20% per year.
During the past 3 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 8.70% per year.
During the past 5 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 6.50% per year.
During the past 10 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 13.80% per year.
Please click Growth Rate Calculation Example (GuruFocus) to see how GuruFocus calculates Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT)'s revenue growth rate. You can apply the same method to get the Free Cash Flow Growth Rate using Free Cash Flow per Share data.

During the past 13 years, Capella Education Co's highest 3-Year average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 44.70% per year. The lowest was 0.00% per year. And the median was 2.60% per year.

Historical Data

* All numbers are in millions except for per share data and ratio. All numbers are in their local exchange's currency.

* Premium members only.

Capella Education Co Annual Data

Dec07

Dec08

Dec09

Dec10

Dec11

Dec12

Dec13

Dec14

Dec15

Dec16

Free Cash Flow per Share

3.14

4.03

3.58

3.24

5.18

Capella Education Co Quarterly Data

Sep12

Dec12

Mar13

Jun13

Sep13

Dec13

Mar14

Jun14

Sep14

Dec14

Mar15

Jun15

Sep15

Dec15

Mar16

Jun16

Sep16

Dec16

Mar17

Jun17

Free Cash Flow per Share

1.32

2.28

0.18

0.88

1.06

Calculation

Free Cashflow per Share is the amount of Free Cashflow per outstanding share of the company's stock.

Free Cash Flow is considered one of the most important parameters to measure a company's earnings power by value investors because it is not subject to estimates of Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization (DDA). However, when we look at the Free Cash Flow, we should look from a long term perspective, because any year's Free Cash Flow can be drastically affected by the spending on Property, Plant, & Equipment (PPE) of the business in that year. Over the long term, Free Cash Flow should give pretty good picture on the real earnings power of the company.

* All numbers are in millions except for per share data and ratio. All numbers are in their local exchange's currency.

Explanation

Free Cash Flow is very close to Warren Buffett's definition of Owner's Earnings, except that in Warren Buffett's Owner's Earnings, the spending for Property, Plant, and Equipment is only for maintenance (replacement), while in the Free Cash Flow calculation, the cost of new Property, Plant, and Equipment due to business expansion is also deducted. There, Free Cash Flow is more conservative than Owner's Earnings.

In Don Yacktman's calculation of forward rate of return, he uses Free Cash Flow for the calculation. Yacktman explained the forward rate of return concept in detail in his interview with GuruFocus. Yacktman defines forward rate of return as the normalized free cash flow yield plus real growth plus inflation.

This is what Yacktman said in his March 2012 interview - when the S&P 500 was at 1400:

If the business is stable, this calculation is fairly straightforward. For instance, on the S&P 500 we would normalize earnings. We would then calculate what percentage of those earnings are not reinvested in the underlying businesses and are therefore free. Historically, for the S&P 500, this has been just under 50% of earnings. Currently, we expect the S&P to earn about 70 on a normalized basis, a number which is far below reported earnings due to our adjusting for record high profit margins. $70 X ½ / 1400 gives you a normalized free cash flow yield of approximately 2.5%.

The historical real growth rate of the S&P 500 (companies) is about 1.5%. Assuming an inflation rate of 2.5%, the forward rate of return on an investment in the S&P 500 is about 6.5% today (2.5% free cash flow yield plus 1.5% real growth plus 2.5% inflation).

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